You have too much to do, there’s a long-hours culture, you’re a workaholic – whatever the reason, staying late to carry on working is not good enough. We understand that sales positions often mean working outside of core hours to get hold of people and tie down a deal however if your boss wants you to do this then there should be flexibility on your working hours.

Falling into the trap of working longer hours can quickly become a curse – you don’t want working extra hours to turn into the norm, and then when you try to break out and start working normal hours you’re criticised for not being as passionate as you were before.

Why should you leave the office on time?

1. Your work will never end

Work is never done, it’s a continuous process that will develop, change and evolve over years of hard work. Getting the ‘job done’ will never happen!

2. Your family/friends are important

Spending more time with your work colleagues than your family and friends shouldn’t be the norm. Your family should be the most important aspect of your life and should always come first so spend more time with them!

3. Life is not about work

There is more to life than work and money. Appreciating accomplishments made outside of work should also be a focus. More and more companies are allowing their teams to have allowances to develop on skills which aren’t work related, which is a great place to start! Create more goals which don’t focus on work.

4. Staying late doesn’t make you a more hardworking person

If you’re working 10-12-hour days, you need to re-evaluate what you’re doing in that time and manage your time better. Are you being productive? Could you organise your time better to get a day’s work done in 8 hours? Plan your day better! If you don’t know how – ask for some training.

5. You’re not a machine

You cannot work 24 hours a day! Don’t work like a machine or you’ll face consequences like stress, burn out, depression or serious illness.

6. Working late shouldn’t ever be a work culture

If you work for a company which encourages people to work late you’re working for the wrong company! Your managers should realise that people have lives outside of work and they should encourage you to make the most of them! Take a look at one of the most successful software companies.. Slack. They emphasise the ‘Work hard and go home on time’ mentality.